Ok..Finally I got pics. BF%? Bulk/Cut?

[ray34iyf]

http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5113397
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5113398
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5113399
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5113400

I'm 5-9, 175. What do you guys think that my BF% is? Also, I've been bulking from about 150 and a relatively high BF%. My stats are in my sig.
Finally I've been eating roughly 3000 cals the past few weeks and very clean with alot of healthy fats and about 180 g protein. Should I continue to eat slightly over maintainance with a very clean diet, while busting my arse in the gym and hope I lean out, or cut? I really feel like I could gain a few more pounds of muscle before I cut.
Opinions? Thanks alot guys.

[Unholy]

I think a slow clean bulk would be ideal. As far as BF is concerned its hard to tell with the muscle/fat ratio but I would say 18-20% ballpark.

[KingJustin]

I'm no good at guessing BF%, but I agree with Unholy's advice.

You're 5'9 and 175. Bulk until you hit 200 lbs man, just go slow. As many of us discussed in another thread, you shouldn't be under 200 lbs and cutting (with some exceptions).

[ray34iyf]

How many lbs should I be shooting to gain each week if I do indeed go to 200?

[radioheadhead]

How many lbs should I be shooting to gain each week if I do indeed go to 200?

1.5 - 2 max (IMO)

[ray34iyf]

whoa...that seems like alot.

[radioheadhead]

whoa...that seems like alot.

for my bulk I was hitting about that per week. I probably put on 3 percentage points of BF, acceptable for me cause I was so damned skinny. YMMV, you can go as slowly as you want.

[ray34iyf]

oh.ok..I don't know. I just heard that the standard for someone my BF was 1 lb a week max. Thanks for the advice though bro. I can't wait to hear more from everyone.

[Unholy]

.5-1lb a week

[radioheadhead]

oh.ok..I don't know. I just heard that the standard for someone my BF was 1 lb a week max. Thanks for the advice though bro. I can't wait to hear more from everyone.

good luck, it sure is a lot of fun when you get it working right. I am on my first ever cut, so I am learning a lot too.

[ray34iyf]

Yeah, I never knew that this kind of stuff could be so much fun. I'm definately leaning towards bulking that's for sure. Does anyone have any idea what my BF% is?

[radioheadhead]

there are people MUCH better than me at estimating bf%, but from those pics I would say 17-18%

[ray34iyf]

Hmm..wow. I always thought I was more in the 23% camp. That's cool. Although ever since I dropped my cals from 3600 to 3000 it felt like I dropped 5 lbs of fat. Must have just been my bowels getting cleaned out or something.

[KingJustin]

I would aim for about 1lb/week, but anywhere from .5-2lbs/week sounds decent.

I'm "clean bulking" and I'm aiming for 1.5-2

The cleaner and more advanced your diet, the more you can put on per week.

As a beginner, if you eat reasonably smart I don't see why you couldn't do 2lbs/week.

[ray34iyf]

sweet...that's great to know! It won't take me nearly as long to hit 200 as I once thought!

[McIrish]

Well, it WILL taper off, Ray - don't expect to be putting 2 quality pounds every week forever! Anyhow, I'd go with 18-19 percent, too, but I'm not the best guesser of bf. I would say under 20 for sure, though.